Amusement ride
"Dodgems" redirects here. For the abstract game, see
Dodgem
.
For the structure on the front and rear ends of a car, see
Bumper (car)
.
Bumper cars
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Vehicle type
| Electricity-powered cars
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Riders per vehicle
| 1-2
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Bumper cars
or
dodgems
are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. They are also known as
bumping cars
,
dodging cars
and
dashing cars
. The first patent for them was filed in 1921.
[1]
Design
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]
The metal floor is usually set up as a rectangular or oval track, and
graphite
is sprinkled on the floor to decrease
friction
.
[2]
A
rubber
bumper
surrounds each vehicle, and drivers either ram or dodge each other as they travel. The controls are usually an
accelerator
and a
steering wheel
. The cars can be made to go backwards by turning the steering wheel far enough in either direction, necessary in the frequent
pile-ups
that occur.
Power source
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The cars are commonly powered by one of three methods. The oldest and most common method, the
Over Head System
(OHS), uses a conductive floor and ceiling with opposing power polarities.
Contacts
under the vehicle touch the floor while a
pole
-mounted contact shoe touches the ceiling, forming a complete
circuit
.
A newer method, the
Floor Pick-Up
(FPU) system, uses alternating strips of
metal
across the floor separated by insulating spacers, and no ceiling grid.
[3]
The strips carry the supply current, and the cars are large enough so that the vehicle covers at least two strips at all times. An array of brushes under each car makes random contact with the strips, and the voltage polarity on each contact is arranged to always provide a correct and complete circuit to operate the vehicle.
A third method is used on
Quantum
-class cruise ships
, where bumper cars run on
electric batteries
. This avoids the conductive floor/ceiling of the traditional bumper car setup, allowing the SeaPlex venue to be convertible from a bumper-car ride to a multipurpose gym (basketball court). The disadvantage is that these ships' bumper cars take several hours to recharge.
Bumping
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Although the idea of the ride is to bump other cars, safety-conscious (or at least
litigation
-conscious) owners sometimes put up
signs
reading "This way around" and "No (head on) bumping".
[4]
[5]
Depending on the level of enforcement by operators, these rules are often ignored by bumper car riders, especially younger children and teenagers.
[6]
History
[
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]
In the early 1920s, a patent was granted to Max Stoehrer and his son Harold for an "Amusement Apparatus" which became the basis for
their Dodgem cars. They deliberately equipped their device with "novel instrumentalities to render their manipulation and control difficult and uncertain by the occupant-operator.” They asserted that “in the hands of an unskilled operator," a "plurality of independently manipulated... cars" would “follow a promiscuous, irregular, and undefined path over the floor or other area, to not only produce various sensations during the travel of the vehicle but to collide with other cars as well as with portions of the platform provided for that purpose."
[7]
During their heyday, from the late 1920s to 1950s, two major US bumper cars brands were Dodgem by the Stoehrer and the Lusse Brothers' Auto-Skooter by Joseph and Robert 'Ray' Lusse.
[8]
[9]
Lusse Brothers built the first fiberglass body in 1959, in part due to the survival of Chevrolet Corvette bodies over the previous six years. After getting permission from Chevrolet, then subsequently buying the actual Corvette chevrons from local Philadelphia dealers, those were attached to the nose of their product for 1959. In the mid-1960s,
Disneyland
introduced
hovercraft
-based bumper cars called
Flying Saucers
, which worked on the same principle as an
air hockey
game; however, the ride was a mechanical failure and closed after a few years.
Notable examples
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The largest operating bumper car floor currently operating in the United States is at
Six Flags Great America
in
Gurnee
,
Illinois
. Called the Rue Le Dodge (renamed Rue Le Morgue during Fright Fest in the fall), it is 51 feet 9 inches (15.77 m) by 124 feet 9 inches (38.02 m) or a total of 6,455 square feet (599.7 m
2
). A
replica
of the ride was built at
California's Great America
in
Santa Clara
; in 2005, however, a
concrete
island was added to the middle of the floor to promote
one-way traffic
, reducing the floor area.
[10]
Six Flags Great Adventure
's Autobahn is the largest bumper car floor, but it has not operated since 2008.
See also
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References
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External links
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Rides
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Types
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Manufacturers
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